Systems Alliance/Government: Content of the Constitution
Preamble WE THE PEOPLES OF THE SYSTEMS ALLIANCE DETERMINED *to affirm faith in fundamental sapient rights, in the dignity and worth of the sapient, in the equal rights of peoples and of nations large and small, and *to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of galactic law can be maintained, and *to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, AND FOR THESE ENDS *to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors, and *to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and *to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and *to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples, HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives assembled in the city of New York on Earth, who have exhibited their full powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the present Constitution and do hereby establish an interplanetary supranational government to be known as the Systems Alliance and the planetary bodies under it's jurisdiction. Section I — THE STATES AND THE UNION *Article 1. The organization established by the following ARTICLES shall be known as the Systems Alliance, hereinafter referred to as the UNION. *Article 2. The UNION is an association of sovereign states which have decided to establish and maintain common institutions in the interest of their security, prosperity, and liberty. The UNION shall guarantee the reserved sovereign rights and boundaries of each member state and is authorized to take appropriate measures to secure this guarantee. *Article 3. Member states retain their sovereign rights unimpaired except in so far as these rights are limited by these ARTICLES. *Article 4. The UNION shall have its own flag and seat of government. *Article 5. Accession to the UNION shall be a voluntary act. Member states shall be those which ratify these ARTICLES by the processes hereinafter formulated. *Article 6. The existence of the UNION does not preclude the organization of groups of member states for purposes not inconsistent with those of the UNION. The consent of the UNION shall always be required for such group organizations. Section II — INTERNAL CONSTITUTIONAL STANDARDS OF MEMBER STATES *Article 7. The constitution of each member state shall have the character of fundamental law enforceable in an appropriate state court. *Article 8. The constitution of a member state shall provide for at least one house of its parliament elected by free, equal, and secret ballot by the adult inhabitants of all species, races, and sexes, who are citizens. *Article 9. The constitution of each member state shall secure to its parliament the power to pass all laws and to vote taxes, appropriations and other measures relating to finance and property. *Article 10. The constitution of every member state shall make the privileges and prerogatives of its parliament inalienable and shall guarantee in explicit terms that these privileges and prerogatives may not be transferred to any other authority except for the duration of an emergency. *Article 11. The constitution of every member state shall assure the rights of the opposition in its parliament. *Article 12. The constitution of every member state shall guarantee local or regional autonomy to linguistic minority groups forming a regional majority within a clearly defined territory of the state, provided such groups desire an autonomous status within the member state. The desire for autonomy shall be determined by a plebiscite held under the authority of the UNION. *Article 13. This Section applies to Planetary constitutions as well. Section III — INTERSTATE RELATIONS *Article 14. Every member state shall give full faith and credit to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other member state when these relate to the private rights of persons. *Article 15. Except where a political offense is charged, every member state shall render up a fugitive from justice to the executive authority of the member state from which he fled. *Article 16. The UNION may enact model legislation on any subject outside of its immediate competence and recommend the adoption of such legislation to the appropriate organs of the governments of the member states. *Article 17. Citizens of member states may travel freely across the frontiers of any other member state for the purpose of temporary residence. For such a purpose no passport or visa shall be required. Persons with a criminal record and those likely to become public charges are subject to such regulations as the member state chooses to establish. The permanent migration of persons from one member state to another is subject to such regulations as the Parlaiment of the appropriate higher organ may establish. *Article 18. Every dispute arising between member states must be settled by peaceful means. If the dispute is of a juridical nature, it must be submitted for adjudication to the Supreme Court of the appropriate higher organ. If the dispute is of a non-juridical nature, the Council of the appropriate higher organ shall have power to bring about a final settlement by majority vote.